New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. in 3 days...

For the past 9 days we have had visitors! My mom and my brother and his family came to stay with us and tour the sites and boy did we give a new definition to the word "tourist". I think this is the first time I have sat down since they got here, they just left today. It was so much fun having family come visit, our rooms are always available and our rates are cheap so if any of these pictures look enticing call and make a reservation at the Van Komen hotel we would love to have you. We rode the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty one day it is bigger in person than I thought it would be...

Here are the kids about to get on their first New York subway...

The kids standing in front of the Statue of Liberty with New York City behind them.

We visited Ground Zero, the picture on the left is of a man who we came to know as Harry. At first, I thought he was a homeless man begging for money, but come to find out he is a very intelligent man who has dedicated his life to educate people and help us never forget 9/11. He comes to this corner everyday and hands out flyers and tells about the day it happened, he has a folder with pictures and gives a very interesting and informative speech about that day. As you see by the picture the kids were very involved in what he was saying I am sure they will never forget him. On the right is a picture of a New York Fire Truck pulling out onto the street, right behind it is Ground Zero. The NYFD were the first on the scene where many died as the second tower was hit and collapsed. There is not much to see here right now as they are rebuilding on the site. There is a memorial that you can walk through that is very emotional.

Then we were on to Philadelphia...here we are at the Liberty Bell, we went on Saturday so JJ was able to go with us.

This is Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Constitution was signed...
Here we are in front of the statue of Rocky, he has been moved off the top of the steps that he ran up because people complained that a fictional character should not be placed in such a prominent area so now he is at the bottom of the steps and off to the side in between some trees.
Me and JJ standing at the top of the "Rocky" steps with Philadelphia behind us it was a great view...

Next stop was Washington, D.C. Here are the kids in front of the Capital building, Preston thought it was cool that the Secret Service were walking around the premises with M-16s.

Above is the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and the White House.

Bryson standing inside of the Lincoln Memorial and Preston sitting in front of it.

The changing of the guard in Arlington Cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Ashley and my nieces standing in front of the Iwojima statue, this thing was massive!

In the end, this is how we all felt...pooped! Unfortunately, most of us were too big to curl up on the bench of the trolley and take a snooze.